Aston Martin Investor Buys Controlling Stake in Morgan Motor

Italian investment group Investindustrial has purchased a majority stake in British niche carmaker Morgan Motor Co.

Terms of the deal, expected to be completed next month, weren’t disclosed. The Morgan family will retain an unspecified share in the 110-year-old company.

The investment will be used to help fund Morgan’s plans to expand its lineup and more than double its annual sales from 700 cars to 1,500 in coming years. Morgan also intends to upgrade its Malvern, England, manufacturing plant and hire more workers.

Investindustrial acquired a 37.5% stake in Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc in 2012. That holding was reduced when the carmaker issued a public stock offering last year. The Morgan investment is from a fund separate from the one associated with Aston Martin.  

The announcement was made this week at the Geneva auto show. Morgan also took the wraps off the all-new Plus Six roadster—the company’s first new model in 19 years—at the event. Due this spring, the £80,000 ($105,000) roadster is the first of a series of planned models—including a flagship car due in the mid-2020s— that will ride on Morgan’s new aluminum chassis.
 

The new Plus Six’s styling builds on the outgoing Plus 8 model. Design cues include Morgan’s iconic waterfall grille, a long hood, round headlights, flowing front fenders and side running boards.

Morgan says less than 1% of the 4,000 parts used in the Plus Six are shared with current models. This includes a BMW-sourced 6-cylinder engine. Generating 335 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, the engine is the first inline layout—and the first to be turbocharged—in Morgan’s history.

The engine is rated at 38.2 mpg on the European driving cycle, while generating 170 g/km of carbon dioxide emissions. Top speed is listed at 170 mph.

The Plus Six features a Morgan-designed suspension, with an independent double-wishbone layout up front and a five-link system in the rear. The only available driver-assist system at launch will be antilock brakes.